Murshidabad was the epicenter of commerce and culture in pre British Bengal in the middle eighteenth century. Murshidabad (or Maksadabad -formerly known) was the most important vassal state for the Mughals in Delhi.
Murshidkurli Khan founded Murshidabad in 1704 AD who had carefully identified the location of this new terrain with fertile soil. Within no time, Mushidabad was taking care of the silk & spice demands of Europe. Kashem Bajar, a market in Murshidabad was a busy trade area enveloped by a cosmopolitan air hosting Dutch, Portuguese, British, Iranian, Armenian et al.
The local rulers or the Nawabs were efficient, diplomatic and at times ferocious. Being proud of their position, they often constructed enormous structures, mostly mosques. Some of them are still visible but are in ruins.
KATRA MOSQUE
If you happen to explore Lalbagh and venture a little out of the familiar perimeter, you can see the fossils of very old buildings. Almost all of them are more than 200 years old.
